THE REMOTE CONTROL

Will Sally ever get away from the forest?

There must have been something about the strangers that made Chowchow uneasy. Maybe it was their dress, not exactly colourful but certainly not like anything he had ever seen in the forest before, ot it could have been the shrill but modulated sound of the woman’s voice. Whatever it was, it unnerved him.

But he chattered back anyway, not meaning anything but the sounds representing his unease, and rather than Sally snuggling up to him, he suddenly found himself snuggling up to her. These people, bigger than the girl, were still more like her than they were like him. And being unknown, he didn't know what to make of them.

He had no concept of other worlds, but if he had he would have assumed that’s where they were from. As it was, his confusion was complete and all he wanted to do was either flee or seek safety with the Sally creature he’d befriended.

Sally gently pushed Chowchow to one side whilst still letting him snuggle loosely up to her. The appearance of her mother was a shock to her as well and all she could think of was that maybe the newcomers were trapped in this forest as well. But whatever the future held, it was a welcome shock to a girl who had found herself whisked in a moment, away from a confrontation with her uncle in his home to a seemingly endless and ancient forest that was anything but familiar and with a monkey as a new companion.

“Mummy!” she called out without thinking. After all, home, her bed at nights, her meals in the daytime, all were preferable to the nest smelling of goodness-knew what and the nuts and bitter-tasting fruit which was all she had eaten since her arrival. And she knew that it wasn’t only the forest that smelt old and musty: she did, too. She hadn’t changed any item of clothing since her arrival, she hadn’t been able to because she had nothing to change into, and she was well aware that unwashed clothing can slowly start to stink.

“Sally!” responded her mother, “where are you, darling?”

That was the first time her mother had referred to as darling for many a long year. Such terms of affection weren’t normally part of her vocabulary. She tended to behave at home as the schoolmistress she was at work.

“Over here!” called Sally, standing up so that she might be seen over the verdant undergrowth and shrubs behind which they’d been hiding, “but come quietly! Chowchow is nervous and he’s so sweet.”

Chowchow stiffened when he heard the girl pronounce his name. He’d not heard it before said like this, and it sounded warm, friendly, protective. He chattered at her, meaningless to both of them, and she stroked him gently.

“It’s all right,” she whispered to him, “with a little bit of luck we’re saved!”

“What’s Chowchow?” called her mother, a frown creeping back into her voice, as she made her way carefully to where Sally and the monkey had been resting.

“My friend,” replied Sally, and she realised for the first time that was precisely what the monkey was. Lost and alone in a primeval forest she’d had only one companion, and it had been this monkey. She smiled at him and she was sure that he tried to smile back to her.

Her mother’s head appeared in view, close enough now for her to make out the lines of worry that her absence had caused her. Maybe she does miss me when I’m not there, she thought.

“What’s that filthy creature you’re next to?” said her mother sharply. Sally frowned back at her, and Chowchow tried to repeat his earlier smile, and when it failed he chattered quietly, meaningless to him and to them but a sound that told them he was there.

“Don’t you call him that!” replied Sally sharply, “he can’t help it if there aren’t any baths here! And I don’t even know where here is, just that it isn’t home and something happened when I was trying to get away from him… and she pointed at her Uncle, “and suddenly there were trees instead of sofas … and no televisions! My mobile doesn’t even work! And there’s nowhere to recharge it if it did, so I dared say that doesn’t matter any more! But Chowchow was here, and he kept me sane.”

“But he’s a monkey, darling,” pointed out her mother, “a dirty filthy monkey who’d eat you rather than look at you!”

“He’d do nothing of the sort!” declared Sally hotly, “and he can’t help being what he is!”

“I’ll get you home,” put in Uncle Colin, and he held up what looked suspiciously like a television remote control. “If we hold hands together and I press this button...” he indicated something on the device, “we’ll end up back home and your nightmare will be over.”

“Do you know where this is, darling?” asked her mother, and Sally winced at yet another use of the darling word.

“No. I’ve not idea, and I would like to get back home, if only for a clean pair of knickers and a bath,” replied Sally, “but you mustn’t say unpleasant things about Chowchow, who’s the kindest thing I’ve met since I came here ages ago.”

Then, out of the blue and quite unexpectedly, the monkey looked the adults straight in the face, and with a stupendous effort managed to enunciate “Chowchow” so that it sounded almost right, and then,”Sal...ly” almost as distinctly.

It was at that point that the rain decided to return. The forest had almost stopped steaming from the last downpour, and another one was starting, this time accompanied by splinters of lightning and approaching thunder.

“Oh no,” sighed Sally, her wet clothes still trying to dry where she had hung them.

“Quick!” hissed Uncle Colin, and he held on to Mrs Hampton’s hand with one of his own. “Grab the girl!” he added, harshly, “let’s get out of here before we get washed away!”

And Sally’s mother grabbed her daughter by one arm.

“Ready!” she barked at her brother-in-law, and suddenly there was a change of worlds as though a switch had been thrown. Instead of being in a rain-drenched forest they were in the same room from which Sally had escaped three days earlier, it was dry and warm and smelled heavenly.

Mother was there, scowling at Colin and shaking him off her hand, Sally, dishevelled and slightly smelly, was still being clutched by her mother.

And snuggling up to Sally was Chowchow, looking around and totally confused by what he saw when his brain told him that what he should have been was seeing an endless mass of forest, but for some reason that was way beyond him it had gone away.

© Peter Rogerson 15.11.19